Roof system for a vehicle

ABSTRACT

A roof system includes a closure panel that opens a roof opening in which it is positioned partially above a portion of a roof. An operating mechanism includes a front device having a lever for moving the front edge of the panel in a vertical direction. The lever is pivotally connected to a driving slide that has a cam partly in engagement with a stationary guide curve and is in engagement with the panel through a pin-curve assembly. A curve of the pin-curve assembly has a guiding curve extending allowing a corresponding pin to slide along it to move the front of the panel at least in vertical direction when the lever is driven by the driving slide. A locking curve extends mainly vertically when a pin is positioned in the locking curve in order to allow the driving slide to slide the panel in longitudinal direction.

BACKGROUND

The discussion below is merely provided for general backgroundinformation and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining thescope of the claimed subject matter.

Aspects of the invention relate to a roof system for a vehicle having aroof opening in a roof thereof. The roof system includes least a closurepanel which is movable between a closed position in which it closes theroof opening and an open position in which it opens the roof opening andis positioned at least partially above an adjoining portion of the roofpart.

The closure panel is provided with a front support allowing the closurepanel to pivot and slide in a first stationary guide curve. A stationaryguide rail at each longitudinal side of said roof opening slidablyguides an operating mechanism that operates the closure panel in alongitudinal direction of the vehicle. The operating mechanism includesa rear device for moving the rear edge of the closure panel towards araised position relative to the closed position and above the adjoiningportion of the roof part. A front device includes a lever for moving thefront edge of the closure panel in a vertical direction.

A driving slide, which is slidably accommodated in each guide rail, isdrivable by a drive member in order to move the closure panel both invertical and in horizontal direction through the front device and reardevice. The lever of the front device is pivotally connected to thedriving slide and is provided with a guide cam which is at least partlyin engagement with a stationary guide curve and is in engagement withthe closure panel through a pin-curve assembly. A curve of the pin-curveassembly is provided with a guiding curve section extending mainly inhorizontal direction, allowing a corresponding pin to slide along it inorder to move the front side of the closure panel at least in verticaldirection when the lever is driven by the driving slide, where the leverrotates due to a displacement of the cam of the lever through thestationary guide curve.

In this known roof system, the lever of the front device is providedwith a guiding curve which is engaged by a cam on the panel when thefront of the panel is moved in vertical direction, whereas the lever isfurther provided with a pin which comes into engagement with a lockingcurve on the panel when the drive member starts to slide the panel inrearward direction.

SUMMARY

This Summary and the Abstract herein are provided to introduce aselection of concepts in a simplified form that are further describedbelow in the Detailed Description. This Summary and the Abstract are notintended to identify key features or essential features of the claimedsubject matter, nor are they intended to be used as an aid indetermining the scope of the claimed subject matter. The claimed subjectmatter is not limited to implementations that solve any or alldisadvantages noted in the Background.

In an aspect of the disclosure, it is proposed that the curve of thepin-curve assembly is also provided with a locking curve sectionextending mainly in a vertical direction when a corresponding pin ispositioned in the locking curve section in order to allow the drivingslide to slide the panel in a longitudinal direction through thepin-curve assembly.

Due to this feature, the structure is simpler as the curve of thepin-curve assembly is either on the panel or in the lever, so you do notneed two curves on two different parts.

If both curve sections are both in the lever, you just need to redesignthe lever, and do not require a separate curve section on the panel.

The simplest design is obtained if the locking curve section and theguiding curve section belong to a single curve engaged by a singlecorresponding pin.

If one wishes to reduce the building height of the operating system asmuch as possible, the locking curve section and the guiding curvesection may be made separate and open at least at one of their ends, theguiding curve section cooperating with its own corresponding pin duringthe mainly vertical movement, and the locking curve section cooperatingwith its own corresponding pin during the mainly horizontal movement ofthe closure panel.

The locking curve section and the guiding curve section may then bepositioned in overlapping relationship in vertical direction in order tofurther reduce the building height.

The guiding curve section may be formed by a rib on the lever, while theguiding and locking pins on the closure panel are in engagement withopposite surfaces of the rib of the guiding curve when the guiding curvesection is guiding the pivoting movement of the lever.

In this way, the locking pin remains active in all positions, and theguiding curve section does not require a slot, because a simpler rib issufficient as there are two pins available anyhow in this embodiment.

The locking curve section is a slot in which the locking pin engageswhen the guiding pin disengages from the guiding curve.

The front support of the panel comprises at least a cam engaging astationary guide curve, and preferably the stationary guide curve of thecam of the front support is the same as the stationary guide curve ofthe guide cam of the lever, thereby reducing the number of curves forthe number of guiding members, such as cams, built in the operatingmechanism. Of course, it is also conceivable that the cam of the frontsupport and the cam of the lever each have their own stationary guidecurves adapted to obtain the desired movements of the front edge of theclosure panel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further details and advantages of the invention will become more clearfrom the following description of embodiments of the roof system withreference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1a and 1b are partial perspective views of an automobile providedwith a roof system with the closure panel of the roof system in a closedand open position.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the parts of a first embodiment of thefront device of the operating mechanism on one side of the closurepanel.

FIGS. 3a-3d are side views of the front device of operating mechanism ofFIG. 2 in 4 different positions.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view according to the line IV-IV in FIG.3 b.

FIGS. 5a-5d are views corresponding to those of FIGS. 3a-3d , butshowing a second embodiment of the front device.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view according to the line VI-VI in FIG.5 b.

FIGS. 7a-7d are views corresponding to those of FIGS. 3a-3d , butshowing a third embodiment of the front device.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view according to the line VIII-VIII inFIG. 7 b.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1a and 1b show part of a vehicle, in particular an automobile,which comprises at least a roof opening 1 (FIG. 1b ) defined in a(stationary) roof part 2. A closure, here in the form of a closure panel3, is movable between a closed position (FIG. 1a ) in which it closesthe roof opening 1, and an open position (FIG. 1b ) in which it opensthe roof opening 1 and in which it is positioned at least partiallyabove the roof part 2, here the fixed roof part adjoining the rear edgeof the roof opening 1.

As is known per se such an roof system (which is also known as a topslider roof) could comprise additional elements, such as for example atiltable wind deflector positioned ahead of the roof opening 1, orfurther movable or stationary panels, for example in a position behindthe panel 3 when it is in its closed position. In fact, in the presentembodiment, the roof part behind the roof opening 3 is formed by a roofpanel 3′ which may be a stationary roof panel or a movable panel.

FIG. 2 show the parts of an operating mechanism for closure panel 3 inorder to move it between the closed and open positions. One of thelongitudinal sides of closure panel 3 is shown, and it is noted that thesame parts albeit in mirror image are present on the other longitudinalside of panel 3. The panel 3 comprises a glass or plastic transparent ormetal nontransparent sheet 4 supported on the longitudinal sides by apanel bracket 5 fixed to sheet 4, for example by encapsulation materialand/or any other means. At each longitudinal side edge of roof opening 1there is provided a stationary guide rail 6 having several guide groovesin which parts of the operating mechanism are slidably guided. The guiderails 6 are straight or slightly curved in order to follow the curvatureof the vehicle roof.

To move closure panel 3 in longitudinal (along the guide rail 6) andvertical (substantially perpendicular to the guide rail 6) directions,the operating mechanism comprises a front device 7 to move the frontside of closure panel 1 in vertical direction and a rear device (notshown) to move the rear side of closure panel 3 in vertical direction,i.e. up and down. Of course, both devices are also used to move closurepanel 3 in longitudinal or horizontal direction, i.e. back and forth.The rear device may be constructed in a known manner, for example as isshown in U.S. Pat. No. 8,182,029 B2, of which the contents of thisapplication are incorporated herein by reference thereto. The reardevice per se is not part of this invention.

At the front of panel bracket 5 there are provided two cams 8 and 9projecting on opposite sides of bracket 5 in transverse direction inorder to provide a stable support. Front cam 8 is engaged in astationary guide curve 10. This stationary guide curve 10 is formed in a(plastic or steel reinforced plastic) member 11 that is attached tostationary guide rail 6. The stationary guide curve 10 has a number ofguide curve portions adjoining each other from front to back: asubstantially vertical front portion 10′, a rearwardly and upwardlyinclining portion 10″, a longer curved portion 10′″ slightly incliningin upward direction and a rear portion 10″″ that is formed by a groove12 in stationary guide rail 6 connecting to the stationary guide curve10 in member 11. Cam 9 is engaging in a similar guide curve 13 (withsimilar curve portions) in a member 14 fixed to the guide rail andconnecting to a groove 15 opposite to groove 12. Cam 9 offset a distancein longitudinal direction with respect to cam 8 in order to save spaceat the front on the outside of the operating mechanism.

The front device 7 of the operating mechanism includes a drive member16, such as a drive cable moved in longitudinal direction by an electricmotor (not shown), a driving slide 17 drivably connected, in this casepermanently, to the drive member 16, and a lever 18 in engagement withthe driving slide 17. The drive member 17 is guided by a drive cablechannel 19 in the stationary guide rail 6, the driving slide 17 isslidably guided in an adjacent guide groove 20. The lever 18 ispivotally connected to the driving slide 17, here through a pivot pin 21on driving slide 17 fitting in a hole 22 in lever 18. Lever 18 extendsin forward direction from the pivot pin 21.

The drive member 16 is able to slide the driving slide 17 inlongitudinal direction, vertical pivoting movements of lever 18 duringthis motion are effected by an engagement of a guide cam 23 on lever 18into stationary guide curve 10 which in this case is also used by cam 8.

Lever 18 is in engagement with panel 3 through a pin-curve assembly inorder to move the closure panel 3 in longitudinal and/or verticaldirection. The vertical position of panel 3 can be determined by thepivoting movement of lever 18 and by the extent of the curve of thepin-curve assembly. In this first embodiment, a curve 24 of thepin-curve assembly is provided in lever 18, whereas a pin, in this casetwo pins 25 and 26, are provided on panel 3. Curve 24 on lever 18comprises two curve sections, a guide curve section 24 a and a lockingcurve section 24 b. Guide curve section 24 a is active if the front sideof panel 3 is to be moved in vertical direction, locking curve section24 b is active if panel 3 is slid back and forth and should move as aunit with driving slide 17 to which it is substantially locked then. Theguide curve section 24 a extends mainly in longitudinal direction onlever 18, whereas locking curve section 24 b extends mainly in verticaldirection, especially in the orientation of lever 18 when locking curvesection 24 b is active.

In this embodiment, guide curve section 24 a is formed by a rib 27 onlever 18 having two substantially parallel guide surfaces 27 a and 27 beach cooperating with one of pins 25 and 26. Pin 25 cooperates withupper guide surface 27 a of guide curve section 24 a and is a guide pin.Pin 26 cooperates with lower guide surface 27 b of guide curve section24 a and is a locking pin, although it has a double function: it notonly moves along guide curve section 24 a to move the front side ofpanel 3 in vertical direction, it also moves into locking curve section24 b to lock panel 3 to driving slide 17.

FIGS. 3a-3d show the operation of the front device of the operatingmechanism of FIG. 2.

In FIG. 3a , the operating mechanism of the roof system is in a positionin which the closure panel 3 closes the roof opening 1. Cam 8 ispositioned in its lowest front position in vertical front portion 10′,guide cam 23 is positioned at the front end of curve portion 10′″ ofstationary guide curve 10. Pins 25, 26 are positioned near the rear endof guide surfaces 27 a, 27 b on the rib 27 of guide curve section 24 a.Lever 18, driving slide 17 and drive member 16 are in their foremostposition in guide rail 6.

In FIG. 3b , closure panel 3 has been moved to its venting position inwhich the rear side of closure panel 3 is moved upwardly, whereas thefront side of closure panel 3 remains substantially in contact with (theseal on) the front edge of roof opening 1. The panel front side shown indashed lines represents its closed position according to FIG. 3a ).During the tilting movement of panel 3 by means of the rear device ofthe operating mechanism, lever 18 is moved a distance rearwardly bydriving slide 17/drive member 16, so that guide cam 23 is movedrearwardly and slightly upwardly in curve portion 10′″ of stationaryguide curve 10, so that lever 18 is simultaneously pivoted slightlyupwardly. Guide surfaces 27 a, 27 b have been moved the same distancealong pins 25, 26. The combined effect of the movement of the guide cam23 in guide curve portion 10′″ and of the guide surfaces 27 a, 27 balong pins 25, 26 is that the front side of panel 3 is moved slightlyupwardly relative to the position it would have taken without suchupward movement. Then, without this compensation, the front side ofclosure panel 3 would have been lowered more due to the position of thefront of panel 3 with respect to virtual pivoting point P which is notdesirable because of the loss of contact between the front edge of panel3 and the front edge of roof opening 1. This virtual pivoting point Palso causes cams 8, 9 to move slightly rearwardly (and particularly cam9 also upwardly).

FIG. 3c shows the position of closure panel 3 in which it is movedrearwardly and upwardly on its front side in order to move above roofopening 1, so there is no contact between closure panel 3 and thelongitudinal side edge of roof opening 1 when closure panel 3 is slidback and forth. The front side of closure panel 3 is moved upwardly andrearwardly due to the movement of cam 8 through curve portion 10″ ofstationary guide curve 10. During the relative movement in longitudinaldirection between lever 18 and bracket 5 of panel 3, locking pin 26 onbracket 5 is moved into locking curve section 24 b of guide curve 24 inlever 18, and due to the vertical movement of the front side of panel 3and bracket 5 with respect to lever 18, locking pin is moved upwardlyinto this locking curve section 24 b. Guide cam 23 of lever 18 hasreached curve portion 10″″, i.e. the front end of groove 12 instationary guide rail 6.

In FIG. 3d the closure panel 3 is in its sliding position, in which thefront and rear supports of panel 3 slide in guide grooves of guide rail6, so that panel 3 slides parallel to guide rail 6 and thereforesubstantially parallel to roof part 2 behind roof opening 1, althoughfurther vertical movements of panel 3 would be conceivable. Locking pin26 and thereby bracket 5 and panel 3 are locked with respect to lever18/driving slide 17/drive member 16, due to the engagement of lockingpin 26 in the substantially vertically extending locking curve section24 b, and the vertical lock of lever 18 due to the engagement of guidecam 23 in guide groove 12 in guide rail 6 and engagement of cams 8, 9 inguide grooves 12, 15 of guide rail 6. The panel 3 is therefore forced tomove as a unit with drive member 16, driving slide 17 and lever 18.Guide pin 25 is moved out of engagement with guide curve section 24 a,both in the FIG. 3c and FIG. 3d position of panel 3, so that onlylocking pin 26 is active in these positions.

As locking pin 26 is always active, there is no change over between theengagement of pins 25, 26. Only pin 25 is moved into and out ofengagement with guide surface 27 a of guide curve section 24 a, which isalso more reliable than a pin that should enter a slot or groove.

FIGS. 5a-5d and FIG. 6 show the structure and operation of a secondembodiment of the front device of the operating mechanism of the roofsystem. In this embodiment, the guide curve section 24 a and the lockingcurve section 24 b of are part of a single curve 24 in the form of acurved slot or groove in which the front end of the guide curve section24 a is connected to and communicates with the rear end of locking curvesection 24 b. So single pin 26 is always in engagement with curve 24,and in fact lower guide surface 27 b of rib 27 in FIG. 3 is similar tothe upper wall of curve section 24 a in FIG. 5. So the movement of pin26 in FIGS. 5a-5d is the same as of pin 26 in FIGS. 3a-3d . Theoperation of the embodiment of FIG. 5 is the same as in FIG. 3.

FIGS. 7a-7d and FIG. 8 show the structure and operation of a thirdembodiment of the front device of the operating mechanism of the roofsystem. In this embodiment, the guide curve 24 of the pin-curve assemblyis part of or attached to the bracket 5 of panel 3, whereas the pins 25,26 are now provided on lever 18. Curve 24 is rotated substantially 180degrees around a transverse axis with respect to curve 24 in theembodiment of FIG. 3. Although guide curve portion 24 a is shown as aslot having two walls, the lower wall is not required as pins 25 and 26cooperate with surfaces 27 a and 27 b. If pin 26 would not be active inthe positions of FIGS. 7a and 7b , the lower wall of guide curve section24 a could take over the function of pin 26.

From the foregoing it will be clear that the invention provides anoperating mechanism for an roof system having a front device which isable to precisely control movements of the front edge of the closurepanel with a low building height and relatively simple parts. The curveof the pin-curve assembly between the panel and the lever is made eitheron the panel or on the lever. The invention is not limited to theembodiment shown in the drawings and described above, which may bevaried in different manners within the scope of the invention. Featuresof different embodiment may be combined in other ways. Guide pins andcams may have all kinds of shapes and are not limited to thecross-sectional shapes shown in the drawings. The front device couldalso be used in other operating mechanisms, such as for tilt-slidingroofs, spoiler roofs and the like. Other movements of the front edge ofclosure panel could be effected if desired. Rotation of the lever andtogether with the relative movement between the guide curve section andthe cooperating pin(s) provide the vertical movement of the front edgeof the panel, but the contribution of each can be varied widelyaccording to the design needs. The function of the guide curve sectionand the locking curve section could overlap and taken over gradually,and is not necessarily strictly separated.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A roof system for a vehicle having a roof opening in a roof part thereof, comprising: at least a closure panel which is movable between a closed position in which the closure panel closes the roof opening and an open position in which the closure panel opens the roof opening and is positioned at least partially above an adjoining portion of the roof part, the closure panel being provided with a front support allowing the closure panel to pivot and slide in a first stationary guide curve; a stationary guide rail at each longitudinal side of said roof opening, suitable for slidably guiding an operating mechanism that operates the closure panel in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, said operating mechanism comprising: a front device including a lever configured to move the front edge of the closure panel in a vertical direction; and a driving slide which is slidably accommodated in each guide rail and is drivable by a drive member in order to move the closure panel both in vertical and in horizontal direction through the front device; wherein the lever of the front device is pivotally connected to the driving slide, is provided with a guide cam which is at least partly in engagement with a stationary guide curve and is in engagement with the closure panel through a pin-curve assembly having a curve and a corresponding pin or a plurality of curves with separate corresponding pins, the curve or plurality of curves of which is provided in the lever and the corresponding pin or pins of which is provided on the closure panel, wherein the curve or the plurality of curves of the pin-curve assembly is provided with a guiding curve section extending mainly in a horizontal direction and allowing the corresponding pin or one of the separate corresponding pins to slide along guiding curve section in order to move the front side of the closure panel at least in vertical direction when the lever is driven by the driving slide and the lever rotates due to a displacement of the guide cam of the lever through the stationary guide curve, wherein the curve or the plurality of curves of the pin-curve assembly is also provided with a locking curve section extending mainly in vertical direction when the corresponding pin or another of the separate corresponding pins is positioned in the locking curve section in order to allow the driving slide to slide the closure panel in longitudinal direction through the pin-curve assembly.
 2. The roof system according to claim 1, wherein the locking curve section and the guiding curve section belong to a single curve engaged by the corresponding pin.
 3. The roof system according to claim 1, wherein the locking curve section and the guiding curve section are separate and open at least at one of their ends, the guiding curve section cooperating with said one of the separate corresponding pins during the mainly vertical movement of the front edge of the closure panel, and the locking curve section cooperating with said another of the separate corresponding pins during the mainly longitudinal movement of the closure panel.
 4. The roof system according to claim 3, wherein the locking curve section and the guiding curve section are positioned in overlapping relationship in vertical direction.
 5. The roof system according to claim 3, wherein the guiding curve section is formed by a rib on the lever, while the guiding pin and locking pin on the closure panel are in engagement with opposite surfaces of the rib of the guiding curve when the guiding curve section is guiding the pivoting movement of the lever.
 6. The roof system according to claim 3, wherein the locking curve section is a slot in which the locking pin engages when the guiding pin disengages from the guiding curve.
 7. The roof system according to claim 1, wherein the front support of the panel comprises at a front support cam engaging a fixed guide curve.
 8. The roof system according to claim 7, wherein the fixed guide curve of the front support cam of the front support is the same as the stationary guide curve of the guide cam of the lever.
 9. The roof system according to claim 7, wherein the stationary guide curve is provided with an inclined front portion.
 10. The roof system according to claim 7, wherein the stationary guide curve is provided with a slightly inclined portion to cooperate with the guide cam to rotate the lever.
 11. The roof system according to claim 2, wherein a front end of the guiding curve section is connected to and communicates with a rear end of locking curve section.
 12. The roof system according to claim 1, wherein the lever of the front device extends in forward direction from a position where the lever is pivotally connected to the driving slide. 